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2007 PhD Thesis Final Revised.pdf - Curtin University

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having a disability can prevent access to the Internet. There was a strong bias<br />

towards agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement for those with income<br />

levels under $15,000 but relatively even opinions for other income levels. These<br />

comparisons demonstrated that people who were on incomes below $15,000 faced<br />

increased difficulties in gaining access to computers and perceived that their<br />

disability made it more difficult to access IT products and services. This finding is<br />

also supported by the survey open-ended comments whereby several respondents<br />

discussed the difficulties associated with low income in the prevention of purchasing<br />

necessary IT equipment.<br />

In relation to education, a comparative analysis was conducted between<br />

current educational levels and attitude towards upgrading to new computing<br />

technologies.<br />

Count<br />

Education<br />

- Current<br />

Total<br />

Education - Current * Attitude Towards Computing Technologies Crosstabulation<br />

Secondary<br />

TAFE Diploma<br />

<strong>University</strong> Undergrad<br />

<strong>University</strong> Postgrad<br />

Other<br />

Not Studying<br />

Attitude Towards Computing Technologies<br />

Latest Wait for Only when<br />

Technology Advice Necessary Do Not Use Total<br />

2 3 0 0 5<br />

8 6 3 0 17<br />

6 6 3 0 15<br />

3 5 3 0 11<br />

5 13 12 1 31<br />

47 70 104 61 282<br />

71 103 125 62 361<br />

Figure 8.18 Table of current education and attitude towards upgrading<br />

As noted in figure 8.18, a comparison between educational levels and attitude<br />

towards computing suggested again that the pursuit of education encouraged the use<br />

of computing. In every area of study, the number of respondents who upgraded to<br />

the latest technology or waited for advice is greater than those who only upgraded<br />

when necessary or did not use a computer at all. Such results were particular<br />

significant when compared with those who were not studying. In this group, the<br />

largest category of respondents were those who only upgraded when necessary and a<br />

high number of those did not use a computer. This suggested that undertaking<br />

studies highlighted the importance and benefits of computing and Internet-related<br />

technologies.<br />

225

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